Family Tracing

 

The Family Tracing Services of The Salvation Army were started in 1885 in order to locate family members with whom contact had been lost. The prime purpose of the Family Tracing Service is to reunite closely related family members. However, increasing privacy laws. in many places, are contributing to make it much more difficult to locate missing people. 

Please Note:

It is the policy of the Family Tracing Service that searches are generally not conducted under any of the conditions outlined below:

• The inquiry concerns a friend, i.e. not a family member.

• The subject of the inquiry is a person under 16 years of age.

• The inquiry involves a legal matter such as debt collection, child support, alimony or the settlement of an estate.

• The inquirer was adopted and is seeking his/her birth parents or the inquirer is seeking a child given up for adoption, as The Salvation Army does not have access to adoption records.

• The inquirer is seeking a biological parent, or the inquirer is a birth parent seeking his/her child without supporting documentation such as a birth certificate, which proves the relationship.

• The inquiry is for genealogical purposes.

• The subject of the inquiry is known to be deceased or can reasonably be assumed to have died.

• The inquiry involves a child custody dispute or parental kidnapping.

• The subject of the inquiry has been missing for less than six months.

• The inquirer is requesting a “secret” search for the sole purpose of obtaining information. We reserve the right to reveal the inquirer’s identity, address and his/her reason for the inquiry.

• The inquirer is not able to provide sufficient identifying information to facilitate a search.

When we receive your completed form, we will review it to determine if your inquiry falls within the scope of our Family Tracing program and you also if you have provided sufficient information to enable us to do a search. In due course, we will advise you concerning the status of your inquiry. Please note that searches for missing persons often take many months to complete. We will notify you if / when any updates are available.

Please click on the links to our resource pages for Family Tracing. These links are also available from the menu on the right under Family Tracing.

Application Process

Mailing List For Family Tracing Offices

Resources for Locating A Family Member

General Family Tracing Inquiries can be emailed to:
familytracing@salvationarmy.ca